THOMAS B. EARLE, LT, USN

Thomas Earle '40

Date of birth: January 12, 1918

Date of death: July 15, 1944

Age: 26

Lucky Bag

From the 1940 Lucky Bag:

THOMAS BAYLIS EARLE

Greenville, South Carolina

Tom

A native of South Carolina, Tom has the drawl common to that section. He seldom had to be asked, "From which podunk do you hail, mister?" — it was obvious. Tom divided his attentions among many fields, being versatile in dragging, interested in all sports, and excelling in the art of making friends. He served on the hop committee every year, performing fine service in his chairmanship capacity. He is conspicuous to all who know him because of his rollicking, carefree nature and ever present smile. During his sojourn by the Severn it may be said that Tom was particularly interested in the local "color."

Hop Committee 3, 2, 1; Chairman Youngster Hop; Chairman Ring Dance; Boat Club; 1 Stripe.

THOMAS BAYLIS EARLE

Greenville, South Carolina

Tom

A native of South Carolina, Tom has the drawl common to that section. He seldom had to be asked, "From which podunk do you hail, mister?" — it was obvious. Tom divided his attentions among many fields, being versatile in dragging, interested in all sports, and excelling in the art of making friends. He served on the hop committee every year, performing fine service in his chairmanship capacity. He is conspicuous to all who know him because of his rollicking, carefree nature and ever present smile. During his sojourn by the Severn it may be said that Tom was particularly interested in the local "color."

Hop Committee 3, 2, 1; Chairman Youngster Hop; Chairman Ring Dance; Boat Club; 1 Stripe.

Loss

Tom was lost in an aircraft crash near Half Moon Bay, California, on July 15, 1944.

From the war diary of COMWESSEAFRON (Commander Western Sea Frontier):

Two F6F's, from the Naval Air Station, Alameda, engaged in making practice gunnery runs on PBM's, 30 miles bearing 210° True from Hali Moon Bay, dove through the overcast from 7,000 to 2,000 feet, at 1420, and disappeared. The planes were piloted by Lieutenant Thomas B. EARLE. USN, and Earle E. GARWICK, USNR, both of whom are missing.
The area was searched by aircraft from the Northern California Sector's Air-Sea Rescue Unit, including two PBM's, one JRF, and the USCG 50067, in addition to an airship from Moffett Field. The USS LAWRENCE, returning to San Francisco from San Diego, was diverted at 1826, to conduct a box search in the area of 37°04'N, 122°50 'W.

Unable to determine which squadron he was a member of.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

His father Wilton was an attorney who died December 1, 1943. Thomas was stationed in Daytona Beach, and his mother came to live with him. In September 1944 at the local art gallery in Greenville, a photographer had pictures of local people including Thomas and his brother. His brother Captain Wilton, Jr. was in the Air Force. His first name was Major. He had a son born in March 1945 whom he named after Thomas.

He has a memory marker in South Carolina.

Photographs

From the Lucky Bag

Memorial Trophy

An article in the August 1956 edition of the magazine Naval Aviation News reported that the Chief of Naval Operations had, at some point previously, created the Earle Trophy to be presented to the winner of the Fleet Gunnery Meet.

Memorial Hall Error

Tom is listed on the killed in action panel in the front of Memorial Hall.

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.